Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI have inked a new worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band has issued the following statement on the matter:

"Once upon a time were the merry men of KORPIKLAANI on a tour somewhere in Europe, drinking beer in the bus on the road from here to there. Between the beers there was also some talk about our future.

"On the small bus table, half hidden under the dog-eared deck of cards, coins and empty bottles, there was a Blast! magazine. This catalogue of Nuclear Blast had seen better days. It had already served as a beermat, ashtray and toilet entertainment, even though the language was totally incomprehensible to us.

"Our highly intelligent conversation moved to record companies and we started to wonder which one of them would the best for us. Jonne happened to set his bleary eyes on the scruffy magazine and asked if anyone knew any band that had left Nuclear Blast. There was a silence.

"No one knew and we saw that it was good. That's when we first got the idea that Nuclear Blast would actually be a great company for us as well. It must be a good home for bands because no one ever leaves. The idea of us and them still felt distant and unrealistic.

"As the time passed, our small and ugly folk metal band gained more success, slowly but steadily, and played more and more concerts. And behold, one day we got a word from our own chargé d'affaires, Matte, that one of the best is interested in us, Nuclear Blast.

"Our first meeting was in Germany, the land of... eh... well, Germans. We were prepared to meet bald, fat businessmen in their black three-piece suits with briefcases full of contract papers. We couldn't find any. Instead of that there some smiling folkmetal loving fellows with pints in their hands.

"And then we heard the magic words: 'You guys want some beer?'"

KORPIKLAANI recently entered the Finnish and German album charts at positions No. 36 and No. 52, respectively, with their latest effort, "Tervaskanto" (Napalm Records).

We have been in the studio again every now and then since last spring, and we have more material ready than is needed for an entire album. It is already mixed and ready.

The album became quite long, but we just could not drop any of the 14 songs. It was already hard to decide which songs would become bonus tracks.

So, we offer to you 14 new songs plus 2 bonus tracks on our upcoming album 'Korven Kuningas', which means 'King of the Woods'

This time the album cover will be painted, not photoshopped. The old man "Vaari" will be figuring on the cover again, so it will look familiar and faithful to everyone, even though a different technique is used.